Great Windows Phone Games

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Got a Windows Phone? Get these games.

By Levi Buchanan

Microsoft's Windows Phone has emerged as a viable alternative to the iPhone and Android devices. The interface is fresh and innovative, the hardware is good (thanks in no small part to Microsoft's tight tech restrictions), and the content has been pretty strong. Gaming in particular has enjoyed success thanks to Microsoft's links to Xbox Live for a lot of titles – not all, but many – and the availability of Xbox brands like Crackdown. (Not that Crackdown on Windows Phone was a success itself, but you get the idea.)

We looked over the Windows Phone game catalog and came up with a list of game you really ought to have if you own a WP7 device.

CarneyVale Showtime is a fun little action-puzzler where you swing a clown puppet around pegs, flinging him ever closer to his goal, a ring of fire. However, between here and there, you need to pop as many balloons as possible while searching out one hidden star per level. Oh, and avoid getting shocked, smashed, and clobbered by the many hazards at this big top.

ilomilo is a challenging game disguised in an adorably harmless costume. If you're a fan of visual logic puzzles, definitely check it out. Not only will your brain get a workout, but the slightly-out-of-tune-elementary-school-band soundtrack is a delight and the whole package has a sense of humor that will have you grinning.

OMG is a fun shooter for Windows Phone 7 devices. Not only is it gorgeous, but it's fun to tackle the balance between enraging enemies for bonus points and playing it safe. The touch controls sometimes get in the way, but they are something you eventually compensate for on your own by purposefully keeping your finger away from your ship.

EA Mobile did not treat Sims 3 for mobile devices as an inferior product to the flagship game, which is something you often see in DS or mobile editions of existing franchises. After creating a new Sim, you move into a new town and have to manage wishes, needs, money, and social interests. The amount of content and detail betrays a real dedication to making a complete Sims experience for a new screen. Despite occasional odd interface decisions and the fact it's a few versions back, Sims 3 is still a quality game that comes recommended.

Flight Control was a monster hit for the iPhone. It even created an entirely new type of puzzle game – the line drawer. Here, you draw flight paths on-screen to direct air traffic to runways and helipads. You must match the color of jets and choppers to their respective landing zones, and make absolutely sure none of them crash mid-flight. Though it has been oft-imitated (and even upgraded upon by others), Flight Control still has the goods. If you have never played Flight Control on an iDevice or the Nintendo DSi, it's a good grab for your Windows Phone 7 device.

The Harvest is an exclusive for Windows Phone games that was supposed to transfer Diablo-style grinding and loot collecting with an over-the-top sci-fi setting. For the most part, that's what gamers got when they downloaded it. The world in Harvest is bombed-out wasteland with no shortage of wasteland to explore in the cockpit of your mobile armor suit. That suit has plenty of slots for customization so you have the tools and means beat down the machines that now threaten what's left of humanity.

In Glow Artisan, you have three colors of paint – blue, yellow, red – to drag across rows and columns of a puzzle field. You need to match the layout at the top of the puzzle field by mixing colors (to form green, purple, etc.) and deleting pieces of the field with an erase tool. But the erase tool wipes out an entire column or row, so you must be cautious with it. Figuring out how far to stretch lines of colors, overlap them, and delete the right areas will take you by the throat. And if you aren't daunted by it's difficulty, there's a good chance Glow Artisan will not let go.